My Brother's Keeper
by Choo.Choo.Kendricks
Summary: "We were supposed to protect each other and I didn't do my part. Now my brother is dead. I…I can't believe he's gone…"


Author's** Note: **Well, it certainly has been a while since I've posted anything on here. But now I'm bored, and wanted to share this particular story that I've been working on for the last four years or so. It features Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of The Temptations (YES, the singing group. Lol) and they're supposed to be half brothers in the story. OK, I KNOW music fanfics aren't allowed on the site anymore but I _REALLY _wanted to share and see what other thought about my little writing project. Also, no disrespect is intended to any of the members of The Temptations. Just a little idea I had running around in my head and it's very much still a work in progress. I do hope you enjoy, whether you're a fan of The Temptations or not. :-)

Oh, and before I forget, this first part is just a prologue and I was vague with certain character and scene descriptions on purpose. Everything will be explained later on in future chapters (that is if the reader interest is there).

**Disclaimer: **I own NOTHING. That is all.

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_Late April 1967_

_It was just imagination, the temptation _

_that went to your head and now_

_you are a victim of circumstance._

_You've beat me to the girl that I always wanted._

_You thought you had her brother but you still don't own her_

_Because I'm not through and there's nothing you can do_

_You never had her_

_She took you for a ride_

The soulful harmony of Aaron Neville's _She Took You For A Ride_ blasted from a tiny transistor radio sitting on top of a work bench, filling the somewhat cramped high school janitor's room with its melody. A middle-aged African-American man, slightly overweight, balding, and wearing dark blue denim overalls with black work shoes, stood outside of the doorway lighting a cigarette. Taking a couple of puffs, he leaned back against the door pane, freeing the smoke that had been lingering inside of his airway for the last few seconds. Shutting his eyes while rubbing a tired hand over them, the janitor allowed the music flow into his ears as he attempted to relax during his brief break. Shortly thereafter, another janitor, dressed in the same attire as the first but was a tad slimmer and was sporting a slicked back process, entered the room, sighing heavily as he placed his mop and bucket into a corner. Afterwards, he walked over to where the other janitor was standing and sat down on a nearby bench.

"Got anymore lights?" the man questioned with a raspy voice. The other janitor nodded his head in response and swiftly tossed him the pack. With him catching it, the slender janitor shook out a cigarette from its carton and immediately lit his stick, not once hesitating on getting his nicotine fix for the hour.

"All this damn cleanin' we've been doing all mornin' and we're not gettin' jack shit." the heavyset janitor bellowed out suddenly.

"I hear ya," the slimmer janitor agreed. "It's who's runnin' the union. You know they try to pretend that they care and are workin' for us but that's all a damn lie. They're only in this bullshit for themselves, that's it!"

"That's right, and while them white folks get to parade around in their "fancy" country clubs every Saturday mornin', us poor folks get stuck here cleanin' a God damn school. We workin' like dogs all day, every day and get nothin' in the end!"

"Tell the truth, man," the slimmer janitor replied, taking another drag from his cigarette. "We ain't nothin' but some pawns. Straight BULLSHIT."

Along with their smoking, both men continued on with their small talk, voicing their gripes with the union and how they were being paid unfairly. From out of nowhere, the sound of glass shattering broke their discussion.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Following the scream, a sickening thud could be heard nearby.

"WHAT IN BLUE HELL WAS THAT?" the startled heavyset janitor asked.

"Man, I don't know but let's go see!"

In an instant, the two men were running around the building, in search of the mysterious crash and scream. However, it did not take long for them to discover the source of the racket.

"Christ almighty…" the slimmer janitor muttered out, completely taken aback by the sight in front of him. It was the body of an African-American male teen, laid out on the concrete ground and twitching non-stop. Sprawled out on his back, a substantial amount of blood spilled out and pooled underneath his cracked open head while it also could be seen flowing from his nose and mouth. In addition to the way his body was twisted at odd angles, it was almost certain to both men that he had multiple bone fractures, putting the teen through an excruciating amount of pain during his last possible moments in life. And even though they were slightly open, the teen's eyes appeared as if they were giving off an empty look. With tiny pieces of glass still free falling all around, the janitors looked up to see that the fourth floor hallway window had been broken out.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" the heavyset janitor questioned to no one in particular. Just like his partner, he was stunned beyond belief. With the teen's body still jerking about, he managed to gurgle out more blood from his mouth, the thick crimson liquid dribbling down his chin and neck and staining his sapphire colored button-down shirt. Just down the alley, various shouts could be heard. With the two janitors briefly turning their attention to that direction, they saw a group of African-American teen males running from the main building in the distance, sprinting for their lives.

"We gotta get the police or somebody!" the slimmer janitor suggested. "This kid's in bad shape!"

"Yeah…right…I'll go call someone!" and with that, the heavyset janitor dashed off into the school searching for a phone. Meanwhile, the remaining janitor slowly kneeled down to the injured teen in order to get a better look at him and his injuries.

"Hang on, boy," he whispered. "Just hang on for a little bit longer."

But deep down, the man knew the teen was probably a goner based on how high he fell and his wounds. There was no way he could survive this horrific incident. The janitor then noticed that the teen's twitching had finally subsided and at that moment, he knew he was dead.

"NOOOOOO!" a voice screamed out nearby, shaking the janitor out of his daze. He looked up to see a visibly distraught male teen approaching him.

"Shit…" the janitor mumbled to himself, not expecting any spectators to arrive so soon.

"YOU!" he snarled out, darting towards the janitor. "YOU DID THIS TO HIM!"

Before the older man could even get a word out, he found himself being tackled to the ground by the irate teen.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH," he growled out. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

"BOY, I AIN'T DONE NOTHIN' TO THIS KID!" the janitor vehemently answered back, wrestling the teen off of him in the process.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHO DID THIS TO HIM?"

"IF YOU'D CALM THE HELL DOWN THEN I MIGHT BE ABLE TO TELL YOU!"

The teen, still pissed but had constant tears streaming down his face, reluctantly let the wiry janitor go.

"What happened, man?" the teen quietly asked once again, choking on his sobs.

"Well…I'm…I'm not too sure," the janitor hesitated, raising himself up and dusting himself off. "But me and my partner heard him fallin' out of that fourth floor window, screamin', and saw him laid out over here." the slim man answered, pointing up towards the broken window.

"OH MY GOD…" the teen wailed out, collapsing onto the bloody ground and on the dead boy's body." WHY IS THIS HAPPENIN'?"

"I…I don't know, son." the man softly answered.

"MAN…MY FAMILY…MY _PARENTS_…they can't go through this pain…NOT AGAIN! TH…THIS…SHOULDN'T BE…"

Feeling anxious, the janitor scratched the back of his head as looked at his surroundings, hoping that his partner would come back soon and help him. He had no idea what to say or do with the upset teen before him.

"I'M SORRY!" he abruptly howled into the body, making the thin janitor even more nervous. "I'M…SO… SORRY FOR NOT BEIN' THERE FOR YOU. I'M SORRY FOR ALL OF THE THINGS I SAID TO YOU THAT NIGHT. I SHOULD'VE FOUGHT FOR YOU AND NOT AGAINST YOU, ESPECIALLY WHEN DADDY KICKED YOU OUT. I LOVE YOU…PLEASE…YOU CAN'T DIE!"

"Hey boy," the janitor started while making his way over to the teen. "I think you should calm down and have a seat over here on this bench." The janitor slowly made his way over to him and carefully lifted him off of the ground. Defeated in grief and his clothes covered in blood, the teen surrendered to the man's action. He staggered over to the bench with him and sat down, placing his face into the palms of his hands as he began to weep openly.

"OH GOD…WHAT AM I GONNA TELL MY FAMILY?"

As the inconsolable teen continued to bawl uncontrollably, the heavyset janitor returned.

"Hey man, the cops and paramedics are on their way." he puffed out, quickly noticing the upset young male. "Who is he?"

"I don't know,' the slimmer man replied. "I think he might be related to this kid. I didn't ask."

Looking back over at the teen, the heavyset janitor approached him.

"Hey...who are you to this boy?" he asked.

Blood-shot eyes met with the rotund janitor's, the tears never ceasing.

"I'm his brother," he choked out. "He's…he's my…BROTHER!"

Going into another fit of sobs, the teen slid off of the bench and collapsed onto the ground once more, leaving both of the janitors astounded by the teen's disclosure. The men glanced at each other for a few seconds before returning their gazes onto the grieving male. In the not too far distance, the faint sounds of sirens could be heard screeching through the peaceful Saturday morning atmosphere.

"We were supposed to protect each other and I didn't do my part. Now my brother is dead. I…I can't believe he's gone…"

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Welp, hoped you've enjoyed it so far. I tried, really.


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